Constitutional Courts Partially Supports Rodríguez Appeal
Former president, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez (1998-2002), got his Christmas gift early yesterday as the Sala Constitucional (Constitutional Court) partially supported his appeal against the ministro de Seguridad Pública (Security Minister), Rogelio Ramos, in the Pacheco administration (2002-2006).

Rodríguez appealed before the Constitutional Court saying that his rights were violated when the security minister allowed the press to transmit his detention on his arrival at the Juan Santamaría (San José) airport on October 15, 2004, coming from Washington after stepping down as Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), a post he held for only one month.

Rodríguez resigned his post at the OAS following the discovery of his involvement in a payoff scandal known as ALCATEL-ICE, where he is being accused of receiving payment from the French telecommunications firm in being awarded the contract to install the GSM cellular network in Costa Rica.

The Court decided to support, in part, the appeal by Rodríguez and that his rights were violated by the then security minister in allowing the "absolute unnecessary and disproportionate and degrading, condition which a public official was exposed to", according to the Corte Suprema de Justicia (Supreme Court) press office.

The Court considered the actions of security minister Ramos unwarranted in allowing the press into the restricted area of the airport, "allowing the press beyond the necessary and adequate coverage of the event".

Rodríguez also appealed the way agents of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) took off the airplane in handcuffs, alleging that the actions were unjustified, especially being whisked away in the police wagon commonly known as the "perrera" from the airport to the court building in downtown San José.

The Constitutional Court did not agree with that argument, in effect the Court supporting the actions of judicial officials justified and not in violation of any of the former presidents rights.

Former president Rodríguez is currently on conditional release after spending some time behind bars in La Reforma prison, along with cell block mate, former president Miguel Angel Calderon, before being released to house arrest, as the investigation against him continues.

Former president Calderdon is being accused of taking payment in the Fischel-Caja scandal as some us$9 million dollars of a us$39 million loan by the government of Finland to the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) were diverted to personal accounts of Calderon and other public officials and the president of the Fischel Corporation, the largest pharmacy in the country.